Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Chief Executive Sam Altman, accusing the artificial intelligence company of releasing a product that it knew could harm users. The complaint, filed Monday, also seeks to hold Altman personally responsible for alleged damage to Florida residents.

The 83-page filing says OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot has contributed to serious harm, including assisting mass shooters in violent attacks, pushing vulnerable users toward suicide, weakening critical thinking and creating dependence among minors. The complaint argues that the chatbot presents itself with humanlike empathy while operating in ways that can mislead users.

Uthmeier’s office said the alleged harms stem from OpenAI’s drive to dominate the AI market and generate profits despite awareness of the risks. In a statement during a press conference, the attorney general said the company and Altman were endangering children and misleading parents into believing the technology is safe.

The lawsuit is notable because it targets Altman individually, not only the company he leads. Florida is asking a court to find him liable for the alleged harm to residents based on his role as CEO, including what the complaint describes as disregard for risks to human life. The state is also seeking to force OpenAI to comply with the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Florida is the first state to bring a lawsuit against OpenAI, though Uthmeier suggested that other states may follow. The filing adds to the company’s growing legal challenges as lawmakers and regulators scrutinize the impact of generative AI on mental health, safety and consumer protection.

The Florida case follows an earlier criminal investigation opened by Uthmeier in April. That probe was launched to examine whether OpenAI bears responsibility for a 2025 mass shooting at Florida State University, in which two people were killed. According to the attorney general, that investigation will continue. Prosecutors had reviewed chat logs between the gunman and ChatGPT, according to the state’s prior announcement.

OpenAI is already facing several other lawsuits tied to alleged harms from ChatGPT. Seven families of victims in a mass shooting in Canada sued the company, claiming the attacker used the chatbot to help plan the attack and that OpenAI failed to intervene. Altman later apologized to the community in a letter.

The company is also confronting wrongful death suits that accuse ChatGPT of feeding harmful delusions and, in some cases, contributing to suicides. In response to concerns about mental health, OpenAI said in August that it was improving how its models recognize and respond to signs of distress and had introduced new safety tools, including parental controls.

The latest Florida case comes amid broader pressure on OpenAI from other high-profile legal disputes. Last month, the company and Altman were involved in a separate lawsuit brought by Elon Musk, who accused them of abandoning OpenAI’s nonprofit mission. After a three-week trial, a jury concluded Musk waited too long to sue, a decision the judge adopted.

For OpenAI, the Florida suit marks another legal and reputational challenge as the company faces questions about the safety of its products and the responsibilities of its leadership.